Our Church History

1850Arrival in the area of Bishop Serra and his band. Initial plans underway for Benedictine foundation, which he named Subiaco.

1859 June 2: Completion of 2-storey Benedictine Monastery on the hill.

1859 July: Bishop Serra departed for Rome and did not return. Rome had decreed against another Benedictine foundation besides New Norcia.

1864 Last of the monks left Subiaco for New Norcia. A few chose to join the Perth Diocese, including Fr. Anselm Bourke, Vicar General.

1869 Bishop Griver became Bishop of Perth.

1872 The old Benedictine buildings occupied as an Orphanage for Boys (initially a very small group of Catholic lads from the Goverment “Home”) under the sponsorship of the St. Vincent the Paul Society, managed by Fr. Matthew Gibney with the help of a layman’s Committee and lay staff.

1874 Printing press set up on the strong upper storey of the Subiaco Boys’ Orphanage and on July 6, the first issue of THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC RECORD was published.

1879 April 23: Huge storm struck the Orphanage building and, sadly, one lad was killed by a lightning strike. The building was badly damaged.

1880 Sufficient money could not be raised in the Diocese to repair the Orphanage, so Father Gibney received permission to visit the Eastern Colonies to beg for funds. He embarked on a series of what were called “charity sermons” in various parishes. On the morning of June 28 at Kilmore, Victoria, he boarded the train for Sydney via Albury; the train stopped at Benalla where the passengers heard the startling news of Ned Kelly and his “stand” at Glenrowan. The train moved on to Glenrowan and Fr. Gibney moved into the history books for the outstanding help he rendered at the site, and for his ministrations to the injured Ned Kelly. (The incident is covered fully in Fr. Bourke’s History of the Catholic Church in W.A.)

1886 The Jones family, first family to settle in the area, built and occupied their home opposite the little platform.

1887 Bishop Gibney appointed Bishop of Perth.

1893 Jan 22 : New School/Chapel opened at the Orphanage.

1895 St Kevin’s Industrial School, Subiaco (now Glendalough) opened in the care of the Oblate Fathers. In 1895, the site was part of the Subiaco Church land; since 1921, the original building still stands as part of the Little Sisters’ Home.

1896 Subiaco Road Board established.

1897 Local Governing body changed to “Subiaco Municipality”.

1897 Sisters of St John of God arrived, occupying, on their present site, a tiny cottage-convent and a 10-room hospital, with a small stone “Convent Church”, which doubled as a school. (Formally blessed the next year by Bishop Gibney and opened by the Premier, Sir John Forrest.)

1901St Joseph’s Parish, Subiaco, created. Fr.P. Verling [later, Monsignor] first Parish Priest; the Presbytery, 11 McCourt Street. The Church, the 1897 Church/School built by the St. John of God Nuns.

1901 Sep 8: Christian Brothers, with the orphan boys, left Subiaco for their new establishment at Clontarf.

1902 Sisters of Mercy returned to the orphanage site, this time with orphan girls (for whom they had cared at Victoria Square since 1868).

1902 The big St. John’s Convent we remember, was opened (demolished 1983).

1904 First section of the Home of the Good Shepherd opened on the hill at the top of McCourt Street (foundation stone laid the previous year), and occupied by the Sisters and girls from the first Convent in Adelaide Terrace.

1908 St Aloysius School opened and staffed by St. John of God Sisters, who remained in charge until the Easter of 1912, when the Sisters of Mercy took over.

1908 February 7: Home of the Good Shepherd building (a second one). Foundation Stone laid by Hon. Newton Moore, Premier of WA. (This building later occupied by the Catholic Pastoral Institute of WA, currently by the Catholic Education Office)

1910 Bishop (later Archbishop) Clune appointed.

1912 Sisters of Mercy took over administration of St. Joseph’s School.

1912 October: Foundation stone, new St. Joseph’s (private).

1912 December: St John’s Hospital wing opened (the old one nearest Salvado Road and now demolished).

1913 February: New St Joseph’s Church building and classrooms opened at corner of McCourt St and Salvado Rd. Some classes still in old stone building.

1953 December 6: New secondary school blessed and opened by Archbishop Prendeville for the Brigidine Sisters at Convent site.

1954 The first little Church of St Joseph’s was demolished.

1954 February 7: St Joseph’s Marist Brothers Boys’ School blessed and opened by Bishop Goody. The Marist Brothers occupied a cottage at 6 Salvado Road, improved and enlarged for their Monastery. A chapel and extentions were added later. (Buildings now occupied by Catholic Education Commission.)

1954 May 25: Extensive fire in Sacristy of the Church- Insurance payment of cover four thousand five hundred pounds received. (Mr. Ross Yates, a young man returning home from his job with WA Newspapers in the early hours of the morning, raised the alarm, which resulted in the fire being confined to the Sacristy.)

1955 March 20: Mass said for the first time in Mass centre established in private home at 11 Daglish St, Wembley.

1956 October 7: Blessing and opening of new Chapel for the St. John of God Sisters.

1956 December 16: New Church (Chapel of Ease) blessed and opened by Bishop Rafferty at Scadden & McKenzie Streets, Wembley, and dedicated to the Holy Family.

1962 May: St Joseph’s Brigidine Primary School tranferred to Station St/Salvado Rd site (vacated by Brigidine Secondary School which moved to Peebles Rd, Floreat).
Two new primary classrooms blessed and opened on May 16. Three building blocks (with house on one) fronting Cambridge St had been purchased by the Parish for extra space.

1962 St. Joseph Hall and School (built 1913) sold to the Sisters of St. John of God, and later on demolished.

1964 September: New marble altar and reredos imported from Italy and installed in St Joseph’s Church. The altar is of white Carrara marble, yellow Siena panels and pillars of red Franchia.

1968 Archbishop Goody appointed Archbishop of Perth, following the death of Archbishop Prendiville.

1969 Holy Spirit Institute (Provincialate and Novitiate) opened for St. John of God Sisters on the old 1913 St Joseph’s site.

1976 Monsignor Kennedy retired.

1976 Father Michael Ryan took up his appointment as fourth Parish Priest of Subiaco.

1981 September 13: New Parish Centre blessed and opened by Bishop Healy.

1981 October 19: Monsignor Kennedy died. He had lived at the Presbytery since his retirement.

1983 Archbishop Foley appointed Archbishop of Perth, on the retirement of Archbishop of Goody.

1984 New Convent for St John of God Sisters opened on old 1902 Convent site.

1984 Extensive repairs and renovations to St Joseph’s Church.

1984 August 12: Celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee of the building of St Joseph’s Church.